Global spying is espionage. It's stealing other countries' secrets. It's doing so for political and economic advantage. It's not about keeping us safe.

Domestic spying has nothing to do with national security. It's for control. It's transformed America more than ever into a police state.

NSA works jointly with CIA, FBI and other rogue US spy agencies. They're waging war on freedom. They want it entirely eliminated.

They're complicit with corrupt politicians, bureaucrats and corporate bosses. They want what no one should tolerate.

They want America more dystopian than ever. It's already unfit to live in. They want worse conditions for millions.

Hundreds of Snowdens are needed. Sunshine is the best disinfectant. Whistleblowers need to be heard, not silenced.

The Government Accountability Project (GAP) calls them anyone "who discloses information that (he or she) reasonably believes is evidence of illegality, gross waste or fraud, mismanagement, abuse of power, general wrongdoing, or a substantial and specific danger to public health and safety."

"Typically, whistleblowers speak out to parties that can influence and rectify the situation."

"These parties include the media, organizational managers, hotlines, or Congressional members/staff, to name a few."

Sibel Edmonds founded the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition (NSWBC). She did so to aid "national security whistleblowers through a variety of methods."

Today is the most perilous time in world history. America is waging war on humanity. Bipartisan complicity created a homeland police state apparatus. Obama heads it.

Fundamental freedoms are targeted for elimination. Government wrongdoing is worse than ever. Exposing it is essential. It's a national imperative.

Whistleblowers with vital information need to reveal it. The 1989 Whistleblower Protection Act protects federal employees who report misconduct. Federal agencies are prohibited from retaliating against those who do so.

Whistleblowers are obligated to report law or regulatory violations, gross mismanagement, waste, fraud and/or abuse, or acts endangering public health or safety.

The Office of Special Council is empowered to investigate whistleblower complaints. The Merit Systems Protection Board adjudicates them.

The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is the only judicial body authorized to hear whistleblower case appeals.

Since the Whistleblower Protection Act's 1994 revision, it ruled on over 200 cases. Only three times did whistleblowers prevail. It's high time they got full legal protection.

These and similar charges reflect police state injustice. Challenging it is vital. Exonerating Snowden is a good beginning.

London Guardian editors agree. On January 1, they headlined "Showden affair: the case for a pardon," saying:

"(T)hrough journalists, in the absence of meaningful, reliable democratic oversight, (he gave) people enough knowledge about the nature of modern intelligence-gathering to allow an informed debate."

It's "actively happening." Federal District Court of the District of Columbia Judge Richard Leon called NSA spying unconstitutional. It's "almost Orwellian, he said.

"I cannot imagine a more 'indiscriminate' and 'arbitrary' invasion than this systematic and high-tech collection and retention of personal data on virtually every single citizen for purposes of querying and analyzing it without prior judicial approval," he explained

"Surely, such a program infringes on 'that degree of privacy' that the founders enshrined in the Fourth Amendment."

It prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures. Mass NSA surveillance does it writ large.

If they say Snowden "did, indeed, raise serious matters of public importance which were previously hidden (or worse, dishonestly concealed), is it then conceivable that he could be treated as a traitor or common felon?"

Wrongdoing is essential to expose. Whistleblowing is a noble tradition. Free speech is too important to compromise.

Snowden deserves praise, not prosecution. So do others acting responsibly the same way. Courageous acts need to be encouraged.

Ending whistleblower prosecutions is a good place to start.
Exonerating Snowden would set a precedent. Perhaps Bradley Manning might follow.

Doing the right thing is more important then ever. So is enforcing rule of law principles.

Jamel Jaffer is ACLU deputy legal director. On December 19, he headlined "End His Prosecution," saying:

"Edward Snowden has made our democracy stronger. He should be praised, not prosecuted."

He revealed information everyone needs to know. Without it, "we wouldn't be having (an) extraordinary debate about the proper scope of the government's surveillance powers."

We have state legislatures addressing privacy rights. We have the General Assembly doing it.